i always get a bit confused by the many variants of indian bread. chapati, puri, nan, roti,… i’m making this version for a while now, and i think it is close to chapati (but the dough was originally for the paratha in jaffreys book)

ingredients:

100g flour (type 405)

100 g flour (type 1050)

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp ghee, melted

75 – 100 ml water

mix flour and salt, add ghee, then water (by the tablespoon) until the dough comes together, knead for 5-10 minutes, chill in the fridge for an hour.

cut the dough in six pieces, and roll them out – VERY thin. cook in a dry pan from both sides.

red lentils are great if there is not much time to cook – they need only about 15 minutes until tender.

ingredients:

1 tbsp ghee (or butter oil)

1 bunch of green onions

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 pieces of celery stalks

2 carrots

200 g red lentils

1/4 tsp chili flakes

1 l vegetable stock

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp soy sauce

salt, black pepper

cut up celery stalks and carrots into small pieces. seperate green and white of green onions and chop.

in a large pan, heat ghee. add garlic and the white of green onions, cook for two minutes. add carrots and celery, cook for another two minutes. add red lentils, cook fon one minute, stirring frequently. add chili flakes and vegetable stock and let it simmer until the lentils are done (15-20 minutes). right before the end of cooking time, add chopped green parts of the green onions (keep a bit for decoration). season the soup with lemon juice, soy sauce, black pepper and salt.

trim asparagus, heat butter oil in a large pan. cook asparagus until tender. when it is almost done, sprinkle with lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper. transfer to a plate, sprinkle with pine nuts and parmesan.

a few dashes of pumpkin seed oil will make it even better.

and since it is so quick, easy and tasty, i’m submitting it to cucina rapida.

i like parsley, but i am not a big fan of parsley dominating an entire dish. therefore i was a bit reluctant about the chimmichurri sauce as a dip for the empanadas and made it primarily because i thought it would look nice, together with the tomato dip i was planning to make. (shifting of priorities, eh?)
and what happened? it looked very nice indeed, and nobody took a picture. but fortunately it was delicous, too.

ingredients:

1 bunch of parsley

1 clove or garlic

6 leaves of basil

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp olive oil (add more if needed)

1/2 red chili, chopped (but it was not very hot)

salt and pepper to taste

combine all ingredients in the blender, mix until the sauce is smooth. chill in the fridge until ready to use (should be used the same day).

spring has come and so it’s time for chive again. at home in my parent’s garden we used to check everyday, starting mid march, on the progress the young chive made. and when it was finally long enough to be cut my father made fresh kräuterquark with chive and onions. delicious.

i don’t have a garden but the store-bought stuff will do.

ingredients:

250 g quark (10% fat)

50 ml milk

half a bunch of chives

half an onion

6 radish

1/4 tsp salt, black pepper

dice onion and radish, cut up the chive into small rolls. put in a bowl, then add quark and stir until well combined. add milk by the tablespoon until desired creaminess is reached ( i like it rather thin as you can see in the pic). season with salt and black pepper.

the quark is also very nice with fresh potatoes (boiled in their skins) and linseed oil or pumpkin seed oil.

there is nothing in the fridge except an aging zucchini, half an onion and a bit of leftover heavy cream? oh, and in the freezer are still some peas. dinner is saved:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sun flower oil

half an onion (or more)

one zucchini

150g frozen green peas

100ml vegetable stock

100 ml heavy cream

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

salt, freshly ground black pepper

200g pasta of your choice

sauté the diced onion in a pan with sun flower oil, add diced zucchini and cook for a few minutes. add peas, stir a few times, then add vegetable stock. let it simmer until the peas are done. add heavy cream and let it simmer again for 2-3 minutes. season with lemon juice, salt and black pepper. meanwhile cook the pasta, strain and mix with the sauce. quick and easy and quite good.

we do eat muesli a lot, almost every morning. still i had never thought about making it on my own until i stumbled upon the toasted nutty cranberry granola from shutterbean. it’s very easy to make and the crunchy flakes are great. i will need to tweak it a bit though as i find it a tad salty, also the nuts may need a bit more toasting. looks like a second batch tonight…

i don’t remember where i first read about this idea – but it’s really a great one. those two flavours go together very well and make for a refreshing and light desert. plus it takes only minutes to prepare it: cut a pineapple in bite-sized pieces. chop the leafes of 4-5 twigs of peppermint and pestle with 1-2 tbsp sugar. this becomes peppermint pesto, and it’s used to marinate the pineapple in it. the marinated pineapple can be enjoyed as it is or served with plain yoghurt.